Asymmetric Induction and Enantiodivergence in Catalytic Radical C-H Amination via Enantiodifferentiative H-Atom Abstraction and Stereoretentive Radical Substitution

Control of enantioselectivity remains a major challenge in radical chemistry. The emergence of metalloradical catalysis (MRC) offers a conceptually new strategy for addressing this and other outstanding issues. Through the employment of D-2-symmetric chiral amidoporphyrins as the supporting ligands, Co(II)-based MRC has enabled the development of new catalytic systems for asymmetric radical transformations with a unique profile of reactivity and selectivity. With the support of new-generation HuPhyrin chiral ligands whose cavity environment can be fine-tuned, the Co-centered d-radicals enable to address challenging issues that require exquisite control of fundamental radical processes. As showcased with asymmetric 1,5-C-H amination of sulfamoyl azides, the enantiocontrol of which has proven difficult, the judicious use of HuPhyrin ligand by tuning the bridge length and other remote nonchiral elements allows for controlling both the degree and sense of asymmetric induction in a systematic manner. This effort leads to successful development of new Co(II)-based catalytic systems that are highly effective for enantiodivergent radical 1,5-C-H amination, producing both enantiomers of the strained five-membered cyclic sulfamides with excellent enantioselectivities. Detailed deuterium-labeling studies, together with DFT computation, have revealed an unprecedented mode of asymmetric induction that consists of enantiodifferentiative H-atom abstraction and stereoretentive radical substitution.